According to the method described in JP-A-03-24120, a polymer composition containing non-polymerizable N-paratolyl substituted precursor monomers is exposed to a radiation source, as a result of which the precursor monomers are converted into polymerizable monomer units. This polymer composition is subsequently contacted with a suitable catalyst so that the polymerizable monomer units polymerize to form an electrically conductive polymer. This process is said to yield a polymer composition with good electrically conducting properties, which are also stable.
However, the conversion of the precursor monomers according to JP-A-03-24120 to the corresponding monomers is a very slow process. Irradiation times on the order of several hours appear to be required. As a consequence, a catalyst must not be present in the composition during the conversion step, otherwise, every monomer unit formed is oxidized immediately by the usual catalysts. Due to the slow conversion only a limited amount of monomers are generated at a given moment. An insufficient number of the oxidized monomer units are available for polymerizations, i.e. reaction kinetics are such that the oxidized monomers would fail to contact a other monomer units to initiate or continue the polymerization reaction. As a result, the monomers enter into side-reactions or, at best, are able only to form short polymer chains. These short polymer chains exhibit only poor conductive properties.
In addition, the post-exposure addition of a catalyst, again due to the immediate reaction between monomer and catalyst, therefore creates a separate problem. A polymer layer forms on the surface of the composition which obstructs the transport or dispersion of the catalyst to the remainder of the composition. The catalyst is not homogeneously dispersed throughout the composition. In short, a polymer composition said to contain an electrically conductive polymer following the method of JP-A-03-24120 can be prepared only through a time-consuming process consisting of a plurality of process steps. Thus, because of the time it takes, the known method offers, at best, only a very limited possibility of producing articles in an economically attractive manner.
Thus, a distinct need exists for a process in which the catalyst can be added and homogeneously mixed with the precursor monomers before the conversion is started.